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A firm third alternative needed

VETERAN REMEMBERED: Polit Bureau member of Communist party of India (Marxist) Sitaram Yechury (second left) releases a book on P.Ramamurthy at the concluding function of his centenary celebrations in Coimbatore on Monday. State secretary of the party N. Varadarajan (third left) and Central Committee Member of the party W.R.Varadarajan (left) are in the picture. –

Special Correspondent

CPI(M) has policy-based alternative to solve problems, says Yechury

Congress “compromising” with communal forces

BJP returns to communal agenda: CPI(M) leader

COIMBATORE: A firm third alternative should come to power at the Centre to combat terrorism and communalism, apart from preventing the nation from becoming a victim of alliance with imperialist forces and of flawed economic policies, Communist Party of India (Marxist) Polit Bureau member Sitaram Yechury said here on Monday.

“Though the Congress is not a communal party, it has shown proclivity to compromise with forces that are communal,” he alleged, citing the attacks on churches in Orissa, Karanataka and Kerala as results of inability to curb communalism.

At the same time, these attacks also showed that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had returned to its communal agenda to consolidate the Hindu vote bank.

This was because the BJP found that other parties did not support its leader L.K. Advani’s candidature for the post of the Prime Minister.

As for the terrorist attacks, the CPI (M) leader said there were warnings about the blasts but the lack of vigil had led to catastrophe.

“There is no religion-specific terrorism in the country. But, when some religion-based attacks take place, some groups wrongfully take up arms.”

Participating in a function to mark the birth centenary of one of the nine members of the first Polit Bureau of the party, P. Ramamurti, Mr. Yechury said the CPI (M) had a distinct, policy-based alternative to solve all the problems confronting the nation.

On the deadlock over the Nano car plant at Singur in West Bengal, Mr. Yechury accused the Trinamool Congress, the Congress, the BJP, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and naxalites of having joined hands to thwart the project. “We can tackle it, as we have overcome such challenges earlier. We will meet this politically.”

Mr. Yechury criticised the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance Government and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for pursing the nuclear agreement with the U.S., as if only it could save the nation from the current energy crisis. Proper harnessing of water and coal resources would provide enough energy at Rs.60,000 crore, instead of spending Rs.2.20 lakh crore on nuclear reactors and energy generation. The excess money could be spent on health and education.

Criticising the DMK for its alliance with the BJP earlier and with the Congress now, CPI (M) State secretary N. Varadarajan said his meeting with DMDK leader Vijayakant was consistent with his party’s stand of forming an alternative without the Congress and the BJP. Mr. Yechury, Mr. Varadarajan and party Central Committee member W.R. Varadarajan exhorted the cadre to follow Ramamurti’s approach of working for social and economic uplift of the people through a strong democratic process. Mr. Yechury released a book on Ramamurti.

The State secretary received the first copy.

Addresses students

Earlier, addressing students of the PPG Group of Educational Institutions, he said that India had the potential to be the intellectual leader.

With hardly 7 per cent of the youth getting opportunities for higher education Indian brains were creating a wave across the world in Information Technology and Modern Sciences.

“India could ensure a better future for its younger generations, if investments were made in the areas of health, education and employment” but the refrain for such a demand was that lack of resources.

For tapping the required resources, the country needs alternative set of policies and directions.

“Nobody was against nuclear power for generating the required power, but nothing should be at the cost of mortgaging independent foreign policy. India should not be turned into a subordinate ally of the U.S. imperialism.” After targeting Iraq, Iran and expanding its control over South Asia, the U.S. was now targeting India, Mr. Yechury said.